Method and apparatus for manufacturing high-temperature materials using rotary generated thermal energy

ABSTRACT

A method is provided for inputting thermal energy into fluidic medium in a high-temperature material production process by at least one rotary apparatus comprising a casing with at least one inlet and at least one exit, a rotor comprising at least one row of rotor blades arranged over a circumference of a rotor hub mounted onto a rotor shaft, and a stator configured as an assembly of stationary vanes arranged at least upstream of the at least one row of rotor blades. In the method, an amount of thermal energy is imparted to a stream of fluidic medium directed along a flow path formed inside the casing between the inlet and the exit by virtue of a series of energy transformations occurring when said stream of fluidic medium passes through the stationary vanes and the at least one row of rotor blades, respectively. The method further comprises: integration of said at least one rotary apparatus into a high-temperature material production facility configured to carry out high-temperature material production, such as the production of glass, glass wool, carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, and clay-based materials at temperatures essentially equal to or exceeding 500 degrees Celsius (° C.), and conducting an amount of input energy into the at least one rotary apparatus integrated into the heat-consuming process facility, the input energy comprises electrical energy. A rotary apparatus and related uses are further provided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to systems and methods forinputting thermal energy (heat) into fluids. In particular, theinvention relates to tools and processes for optimizing energyefficiency and reducing greenhouse gas and particle emissions inhigh-temperature material production carried out at high and extremelyhigh temperatures.

BACKGROUND

Industry and governments have been combating to find technologies toachieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissionreduction. Heavy industrial processes such as high-temperature materialproduction have a key role to reach low emission targets set bycompanies, governments and international organizations. Electrificationof these processes has been seen as a solution to reduce emissions. Oneof the obstacles for electrification was achieving high temperaturesneeded in high-temperature material production. By way of example, thecore processes involved in production of high-temperature materials,such as glass, glass wool, carbon fiber, carbon nanotubes, and a varietyof clay-based materials (bricks, ceramics, porcelain, etc.), requirevery high temperatures, such as within a range of about 850 to 1600degrees Celsius (° C.). By way of example, the processes of heating andmelting precursors used in glass manufacturing, such as sand andrecycled glass, proceed at temperatures of about 1400° C. to 1500° C.,and some carbonization processes involved in production of carbon fibersproceed at temperatures of about 1300-1500° C. This sets strictrequirements for energy sources and utilized technologies. Inparticular, while electricity already is used for some high temperatureprocesses, in most cases, neither the technologies nor the economics areyet in place to do so.

A number of rotary solutions have been proposed for heating purposes.Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 11,098,725 B2 (Sanger et al) discloses ahydrodynamic heater pump device operable to selectively generate astream of heated fluid and/or pressurized fluid. A mentionedhydrodynamic heater pump is designed to be incorporated in an automotivevehicle cooling system to provide heat for warming a passengercompartment of the vehicle and to provide other capabilities, such aswindow deicing and engine cooling. The disclosed device may also providea stream of pressurized fluid for cooling an engine. Disclosedtechnology is based on friction; and, since the fluid to be heated isliquid, the presented design is not suitable for conditions involvingextreme turbulence of gas aerodynamics.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,367 B1 (Frick) discloses a system and method forflamelessly heating, concentrating or evaporating a fluid by convertingrotary kinetic energy into heat. Configured for fluid heating, thesystem may comprise a rotary kinetic energy generator, a rotary heatingdevice, and a primary heat exchanger, all in closed-loop fluidcommunication. The rotary heating device may be a water brakedynamometer. The document discloses the use of the system for heatingwater in offshore drilling or production platforms. However, thepresented system is not suitable for heating gaseous media, neither isit feasible for use with high and extremely high temperatures (due toliquid stability, vapor pressure, etc.).

Additionally, some rotary turbomachine-type devices are known toimplement the processes of hydrocarbon (steam) cracking and aim atmaximizing the yields of the target products, such as ethylene andpropylene.

In this regard, an update in the field of technology related to designand manufacturing of efficient heating systems, in particular thosesuitable for high- and extremely high temperature related applications,is still desired, in view of addressing challenges associated withraising temperatures of fluidic substances in efficient andenvironmentally friendly manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to solve or to at leastmitigate at least some of the problems arising from the limitations anddisadvantages of the related art. One or more objectives are achieved byvarious embodiments of the methods for generation of a heated fluidicmedium described herein, the rotary apparatuses and related uses asdefined herein.

In an aspect, a method for high-temperature material productioncomprises generation of a heated fluidic medium by at least one rotaryapparatus integrated into a high-temperature material productionfacility.

As used herein, “high-temperature materials” refers to materials thatrequire one or more manufacturing steps involving high temperatures.Examples of high-temperature materials that may be produced by themethods described herein, or that may benefit from the methods describedherein, include glass, glass wool, carbon fiber, carbon nanotubes,bricks, ceramics, porcelain, and tile formed from ceramics or porcelain,for example. In embodiments, “high-temperature” means temperatureessentially equal to or exceeding about 500 degrees Celsius (° C.), orto the temperature essentially equal to or exceeding about 1200° C., orto the temperature essentially equal to or exceeding about 1700° C.

According to an embodiment, a method for high-temperature materialproduction, which comprises generation of a heated fluidic medium by atleast one rotary apparatus integrated into a high-temperature materialproduction facility, improves energy efficiency or reduces greenhousegas and particle emissions, or both.

In embodiments, the method for high-temperature material productioncomprises generation of a heated fluidic medium by at least one rotaryapparatus integrated into a high-temperature material productionfacility, the at least one rotary apparatus comprising: a casing with atleast one inlet and at least one exit, a rotor comprising at least onerow of rotor blades arranged over a circumference of a rotor hub mountedonto a rotor shaft, and a plurality of stationary vanes arranged into anassembly at least upstream of the at least one row of rotor blades,wherein an amount of thermal energy is imparted to a stream of fluidicmedium directed along a flow path formed inside the casing between theinlet and the exit by virtue of a series of energy transformationsoccurring when said stream of fluidic medium passes through thestationary vanes and the at least one row of rotor blades, respectively,whereby a stream of heated fluidic medium is generated, the methodfurther comprises: conducting an amount of input energy into the atleast one rotary apparatus integrated into the high-temperature materialproduction facility, the input energy comprising electrical energy,supplying the stream of heated fluidic medium generated by the at leastone rotary apparatus into the high-temperature material productionfacility, and operating said at least one rotary apparatus and saidhigh-temperature material production facility to carry outhigh-temperature material production at temperatures essentially equalto or exceeding about 500 degrees Celsius (° C.).

In another aspect, a method is provided for inputting thermal energyinto fluidic medium during high-temperature material production.

In an embodiment, the method comprises inputting thermal energy into aprocess or processes related to producing high-temperature materials ina high-temperature material production facility, the method comprisesgeneration of a heated fluidic medium by at least one rotary apparatusintegrated into a high-temperature material production facility, the atleast one rotary apparatus comprising a casing with at least one inletand at least one exit, a rotor comprising at least one row of rotorblades arranged over a circumference of a rotor hub mounted onto a rotorshaft, and a plurality of stationary vanes arranged upstream the atleast one row of rotor blades, the method further comprises: integratingthe at least one rotary apparatus into the high-temperature materialproduction facility configured to carry out process or processes relatedto production of high-temperature material at temperatures essentiallyequal to or exceeding about 500 degrees Celsius (° C.); conducting anamount of input energy into the at least one rotary apparatus integratedinto the high-temperature material production facility, the input energycomprising electrical energy, and operating the at least one rotaryapparatus integrated into the high-temperature material productionfacility such, that an amount of thermal energy is imparted to a streamof fluidic medium directed along a flow path formed inside the casingbetween the inlet and the exit by virtue of a series of energytransformations occurring when said stream of fluidic medium passesthrough the stationary vanes and the at least one row of rotor blades,respectively, whereby a stream of heated fluidic medium is generated.

In embodiments, the method comprises operating the at least one rotaryapparatus operatively connected and/or integrated into to at least oneheat-consuming unit configured to carry out heat-consuming process orprocesses related to production of high-temperature materials attemperatures essentially equal to or exceeding about 500 degrees Celsius(° C.). The heat-consuming unit can be configured to process rawfeedstocks/precursor materials, through melting and/or reacting, to formhigh-temperature materials in the high-temperature material productionfacility. In additional or alternative configurations, theheat-consuming unit is adapted to heat-process feedstocks/precursormaterials without changing their composition, such as through heatingand/or drying, for example. In embodiments, the heat-consuming unit is afurnace or kiln, including any one of shaft furnace, rotary kilns,multiple hearth furnace, and the like. In embodiments, the methodcomprises operating the at least one rotary apparatus operativelyconnected to at least one furnace configured to heat sand, limestone,soda ash, and recycled glass to produce glass in a glass productionfacility. In embodiments, the method comprises operating the at leastone rotary apparatus operatively connected to at least one furnaceconfigured to melt glass to produce molten glass or cure glass in aglass wool production facility in the high-temperature production ofglass wool. In embodiments, the method comprises operating the at leastone rotary apparatus operatively connected to at least one furnaceconfigured to carbonize polyacrylonitrile fibers to form carbon fibersin a carbon fiber production facility in the high-temperature productionof carbon fiber. In embodiments, the method comprises operating the atleast one rotary apparatus operatively connected to at least one furnaceconfigured to effect disproportionation of high-pressure carbon monoxideto form carbon nanotubes in a carbon nanotube production facility in thehigh-temperature production of carbon nanotubes. In embodiments, themethod comprises operating the at least one rotary apparatus operativelyconnected to at least one kiln configured to thermally process, such asto burn, bricks in a brick production facility in the high-temperatureproduction of bricks. In embodiments, the method comprises operating theat least one rotary apparatus operatively connected to at least one kilnconfigured to thermally process high-temperature clay-based material ina facility for manufacturing of clay-based products. In embodiments, theclay-based material is ceramic or porcelain, and the facility formanufacturing of clay-based products is configured as a ceramicproduction facility and/or as a porcelain production facility.

In manufacturing of high-temperature materials, thefeedstocks/precursors may be sand, limestone, soda ash, or recycledglass or a combination thereof, so that the method is effective toproduce glass wool from those precursors. The feedstock/precursor may bepolyacrylonitrile fiber or another carbon fiber precursor, so that themethod is effective to produce carbon fiber from those precursors. Thefeedstock/precursor may be acetylene or other carbon nanotubeprecursors, so that the method is effective to produce carbon nanotubesfrom those precursors. The feedstock/precursor may be clay, so that themethod is effective to produce clay-based materials, such as any one ofbrick, ceramic or porcelain. The feedstock/precursor may be clay, shale,lime, sand, concrete or other precursors, so that the method iseffective to produce bricks from these precursors. Thefeedstock/precursor may be clay or other ceramic precursors so that themethod is effective to produce ceramic from those precursors. Thefeedstock/precursor may be clay or other porcelain precursors, so thatthe method is effective to produce porcelain from those precursors.

In some other embodiments, the heat-consuming unit is configured as anyone of: an oven, a reactor, a heater, a burner, a dryer, a boiler, aconveyor device, or a combination thereof.

In embodiments, the method comprises generation of the fluidic mediumheated to the temperature essentially equal to or exceeding about 500degrees Celsius (° C.), or to the temperature essentially equal to orexceeding about 1200° C., or to the temperature essentially equal to orexceeding about 1700° C.

In embodiments, the method comprises adjusting velocity and/or pressureof the stream of fluidic medium propagating through the rotaryapparatus, to produce conditions at which the stream of the heatedfluidic medium is generated.

In embodiments, in said method, the heated fluidic medium is generatedby at least one rotary apparatus comprising two or more rows of rotorblades sequentially arranged along the rotor shaft.

In an embodiment, in said method, the heated fluidic medium is generatedby at least one rotary apparatus further comprising a diffuser areaarranged downstream of the at least one row of rotor blades, the methodfurthers comprises operating the at least one rotary apparatusintegrated into the high-temperature material production facility such,that an amount of thermal energy is imparted to a stream of fluidicmedium directed along a flow path formed inside the casing between theinlet and the exit by virtue of a series of energy transformationsoccurring when said stream of fluidic medium successively passes throughthe stationary guide vanes, the at least one row of rotor blades and thediffuser area, respectively, whereby a stream of heated fluidic mediumis generated. The diffuser area may be configured with or withoutstationary vanes.

In embodiments, in said method, the amount of thermal energy added tothe stream of fluidic medium propagating through the rotary apparatus iscontrolled by adjusting the amount of input energy conducted into the atleast one rotary apparatus integrated into the high-temperature materialproduction facility.

In embodiment, the method further comprises arranging an additionalheating apparatus downstream of the at least one rotary apparatus andintroducing a reactive compound or a mixture of reactive compounds tothe stream of fluidic medium propagating through the rotary apparatusand/or through said additional heating apparatus, whereupon the amountof thermal energy is added to said stream of fluidic medium throughexothermic reaction(s). In embodiment, the reactive compound or amixture of reactive compounds is introduced to the stream of fluidicmedium preheated to a predetermined temperature. In embodiment, thereactive compound or a mixture of reactive compounds is introduced tothe stream of fluidic medium preheated to a temperature essentiallyequal to or exceeding about 1700° C.

In an embodiment, the method comprises generation of the heated fluidicmedium by at least two rotary apparatuses integrated into thehigh-temperature material production facility, wherein the at least tworotary apparatuses are connected in parallel or in series. Inembodiments, the method comprises generation of the heated fluidicmedium by at least two sequentially connected rotary apparatuses,wherein the stream of fluidic medium is preheated to a predeterminedtemperature in at least a first rotary apparatus in a sequence, andwherein said stream of fluidic medium is further heated in at least asecond rotary apparatus in the sequence by inputting an additionalamount of thermal energy into the stream of preheated fluidic mediumpropagating through said second rotary apparatus. In embodiments, insaid method, in at least the first rotary apparatus in the sequence, thestream of fluidic medium is preheated to a temperature essentially equalto or exceeding about 1700° C. In embodiments, in said method, theadditional amount of thermal energy is added to the stream of fluidicmedium propagating through said at least second rotary apparatus in thesequence by virtue of introducing the reactive compound or a mixture ofcompounds into said stream. In embodiments, the method comprisesintroducing the reactive compound or a mixture of reactive compoundsinto a process or processes related to production of high-temperaturematerials.

In embodiments, in said method, the fluidic medium generated by the atleast one rotary apparatus is selected from the group consisting of afeed gas, a recycle gas, a make-up gas, and a process fluid. Inembodiments, in said method, the fluidic medium that enters the rotaryapparatus is an essentially gaseous medium.

In embodiments, the method comprises generation of the heated fluidicmedium in the rotary apparatus. In embodiments, in said method, thefluidic medium to be heated in the rotary apparatus comprises any oneof: air, steam (H₂O), nitrogen (N₂), hydrogen (H₂), carbon dioxide(CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH₄), or any combination thereof.Any other gas can be utilized where appropriate. In embodiments, in saidmethod, the fluidic medium to be heated in the rotary apparatus is arecycle gas recycled from off-gases, such as exhaust gases, generatedduring production of high-temperature materials.

In embodiments, the method comprises generation of the heated fluidicmedium, such as gas, vapor, liquid, and mixtures thereof, and/or heatedsolid materials, outside the rotary apparatus through a process of heattransfer between the heated fluidic medium generated in the rotaryapparatus and any one of the above-mentioned substances bypassing therotary apparatus.

In embodiments, the method further comprises supplying the heatedfluidic medium generated by the at least one rotary apparatus or in theat least one rotary apparatus into at least one heat-consuming unitwithin the high-temperature material production facility, theheat-consuming unit being provided as any one of: a furnace or a kiln.In embodiments, the method further comprises supplying the heatedfluidic medium generated by the at least one rotary apparatus or in theat least one rotary apparatus into at least one heat-consuming unitwithin the high-temperature material production facility, theheat-consuming unit being provided as any one of: an oven, a reactor, aheater, a burner, a dryer, a boiler, a conveyor device, or a combinationthereof.

In embodiments, the method further comprises increasing pressure in thestream of fluidic medium propagating through the rotary apparatus.

In embodiments, in said method, the amount of electrical energyconducted as the input energy into the at least one rotary apparatusintegrated in the high-temperature material production facility iswithin a range of about 5 percent to 100 percent.

In embodiment, in said method, the amount of electrical energy conductedas the input energy into the at least one rotary apparatus integrated inthe high-temperature material production facility is obtainable from asource of renewable energy or a combination of different sources ofenergy, optionally, renewable energy.

In embodiment, in said method, the at least one rotary apparatus isutilized to balance variations, such as oversupply and shortage, in theamount of electrical energy (obtained through supply and/or production,for example), optionally renewable electrical energy, by virtue of beingintegrated, into the high-temperature material production facility,together with an at least one non-electrical energy operable heaterdevice.

In another aspect, a high-temperature material production facility isprovided, said high-temperature material production facility comprisingat least one rotary apparatus configured to generate a heated fluidicmedium and at least one heat-consuming unit configured to carry out aprocess of processes related to high-temperature material production, inaccordance with the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the high-temperature material production facilitycomprises at least one rotary apparatus configured to generate a heatedfluidic medium and at least one heat-consuming unit configured to carryout a process of processes related high-temperature material production,the at least one rotary apparatus integrated into the high-temperaturematerial production apparatus and comprising a casing with at least oneinlet and at least one exit, a rotor comprising at least one row ofrotor blades arranged over a circumference of a rotor hub mounted onto arotor shaft, and a plurality of stationary vanes arranged into anassembly at least upstream of the at least one row of rotor blades,wherein an amount of thermal energy is imparted to a stream of fluidicmedium directed along a flow path formed inside the casing between theinlet and the exit by virtue of a series of energy transformationsoccurring when said stream of fluidic medium passes through thestationary vanes and the at least one row of rotor blades, respectively,whereby a stream of heated fluidic medium is generated; and wherein saidat least one rotary apparatus is configured to receive an amount ofinput energy, the input energy comprising electrical energy, and togenerate a heated fluidic medium for inputting thermal energy into atleast one heat-consuming unit configured to carry out a process orprocesses related to high-temperature material production attemperatures essentially equal to or exceeding about 500 degrees Celsius(° C.).

In embodiments, the at least one heat-consuming unit provided within thehigh-temperature material production facility is a furnace or kiln, andwherein the at least one rotary apparatus is connected to said furnaceor kiln.

In embodiments, the at least one heat-consuming unit is configured asany one of: an oven, a reactor, a heater, a burner, a dryer, a boiler, aconveyor device, or a combination thereof, and the at least one rotaryapparatus is connected to any one of these heat-consuming units or anycombination thereof within the high-temperature material productionfacility.

In embodiments, in said high-temperature material production facility,the at least one rotary apparatus comprises two or more rows of rotorblades sequentially arranged along the rotor shaft. In an embodiment,stationary vanes arranged into the assembly upstream of the at least onerow of rotor blades are configured as stationary guide vanes. In anembodiment, the at least one rotary apparatus further comprises adiffuser area arranged downstream of the at least one row of rotorblades. The diffuser area may be configured with or without stationarydiffuser vanes. In some configurations, vaned diffuser may beimplemented as a plurality of stationary vanes arranged into an assemblydownstream of the at least one row of rotor blades.

In embodiments, the at least one rotary apparatus provided within saidhigh-temperature material production facility is further configured toincrease pressure in the fluidic stream propagating therethrough.

In some configurations, the at least one rotary apparatus providedwithin said high-temperature material production facility is configuredto implement a fluidic flow, between the inlet and the exit, along aflow path established in accordance with any one of: an essentiallyhelical trajectory formed within an essentially toroidal-shaped casing;an essentially helical trajectory formed within an essentially tubularcasing, an essentially radial trajectory, and along the flow pathestablished by virtue of the stream of fluidic medium in the form of twospirals rolled up into vortex rings of right and left directions.

In a further aspect, an assembly is provided and comprises at least tworotary apparatuses according to some previous aspect, said rotaryapparatuses being connected in parallel or in series.

In a further aspect, an arrangement is provided and comprises at leastone rotary apparatus according to some previous aspect, said at leastone rotary apparatus being connected to at least one heat-consuming unitconfigured as a furnace or kiln.

In a further aspect, a high-temperature material production facility isprovided and is configured to implement a high-temperature materialproduction process through a method according to some previously definedaspects and embodiments; and it comprises at least one rotary apparatusaccording to some previous aspect.

The utility of the present invention arises from a variety of reasonsdepending on each particular embodiment thereof.

Overall, embodiments offer an electrified rotary fluid heater to providehigh temperature fluids, such as gases, to be used in the production ofhigh-temperature materials instead of fuel-fired heaters, for example.The presented method enables inputting thermal energy into furnaces usedin the production of high-temperature materials operating at high- andextremely high temperatures, such as temperatures generally exceeding500° C. The invention offers apparatuses and methods for heating thefluidic substances to the temperatures within a range of about 500° C.to about 2000° C., i.e. the temperatures used in high-temperaturematerial production. The rotary apparatus disclosed hereby allows forheating fluids to a predetermined temperatures (up to 1700° C., forexample), which can be further elevated (to up to 2000° C. and beyond)through a concept of so-called booster heating.

High-temperature material production typically employs utility with highdemand for thermal energy and hence, for heat consumption, such as firedheaters, for example. Said heat-consuming utilities are used to heatfluids to the temperatures needed for the high-temperature materialproduction. The invention presented herewith enables replacingconventional heat-consuming utilities, such as fuel fired heaters, by arotary apparatus. In the method, the advantages accompanied by replacingfired heaters with the rotary apparatus include at least:

-   -   Support for electrified heating;    -   Elimination or at least significant reduction of greenhouse gas        (such as NO, CO₂, CO, NO_(X)), other harmful components (such as        for example HCl, H₂S, SO₂, and heavy metals) originating from        fuels, particle emissions and soot emissions;    -   Reduced volume of a heater: the volume of the rotary apparatus        is at least one order of magnitude smaller as compared to the        volume of conventional process heaters or heat exchangers;    -   Improved safety in case of using flammable, hazardous        fluids/gases;    -   Feasibility in handling large volumes of gases;    -   Absence of pressure drop;    -   Possibility of using the rotary (heater) apparatus also for        compression of gases (a blower function);    -   Independency on temperature difference in direct heating of        gases. Temperature rise in the rotary apparatus can be in range        of about 10 to 1700° C. or more;    -   Possibility for using the rotary apparatus in indirect heating        of fluids optionally by optimizing temperature difference in        heat exchanger(s);    -   Possibility for at least partial recycling of hot process gases,        thus improving and making simpler the heat recovery and        improving energy efficiency;    -   Possibility for further raising the temperature of gases to be        heated by adding reactive chemicals which further increase the        gas temperature up to e.g. 2000° C. or higher by exothermic        reactions.

In embodiments, the rotary apparatus can be used to replace conventionalfired heaters or process furnaces for direct or indirect heating inhigh-temperature material production. Traditionally such heat has beenmainly produced through burning of fossil fuels leading to significantCO₂ emissions. Replacing fossil fuels with wood or other bio-basedmaterials has significant resource limitations and other significantenvironmental implications such as sustainable land use. With theincreased cost-efficiency of renewable electricity, namely the rapiddevelopment of wind and solar power, it is possible to replace fossilfuel firing with the rotary apparatus powered with renewable electricityleading to significant greenhouse gas emission reductions. The rotaryapparatus allows electrified heating of fluids to temperatures up to1700° C. and higher. Such temperatures are difficult or impossible toreach with current electrical heating applications.

The rotary apparatus can be used for direct heating of process gases,inert gases, air or any other gases or for indirect heating of processfluids (liquid, vapor, gas, vapor/liquid mixtures etc.). Heated fluidgenerated in said rotary apparatus can be used for heating any one ofgases, vapor, liquid, and solid materials. In particular, the rotaryapparatus can be used for direct heating of recycled gas recycled fromexhaust gases generated from the production of high-temperaturematerials. The rotary apparatus can at least partly replace- or it canbe combined with (e.g. as pre-heater) multiple types of furnaces,heaters, kilns, gasifiers, and reactors that are traditionally fired orheated with solid, liquid or gaseous fossil fuels or in some casesbio-based fuels, including furnaces used in high-temperature materialproduction. Heated gases can be flammable, reactive, or inert and can berecycled back to the rotary apparatus. In addition to heating, therotary apparatus may act as combined blower and heater allowing toincrease pressure and to recycle gases.

Heated fluids, such as gases, can be used in a variety of applications.A heated object can be a solid material, liquid or gas, which gasfurther takes part in a number of reactions or is used as a heatingmedia. Hence, hot gases can be used for heating solid materials like inheating the feed into a catalytic or thermal reactor. An example ofcatalytic reactions is a reverse water gas shift reaction of carbondioxide (CO₂) and hydrogen to synthesis gas, further allowing carboncapture to valuable chemicals. One embodiment is to use hot gases asheating media in heat exchanger to heat process gases or liquids or useas an evaporator. Use of inert hot gases as heating media is a preferredmean when process fluids are at high pressure or in vacuum.

Furthermore, the rotary apparatus(es) 100 can be applied, within thehigh-temperature material production process(es)/facilities, for heatprovision and fluidization in fluidized bed applications, including, butnot limited to: drying of solids, gas-solid heating processes/reactions,and solid-catalysed reactors with gaseous reactants.

The invention enables the reduction of greenhouse gas (CO, CO₂, NOR) andparticle emissions when replacing fired heaters. By using the rotaryapparatus, it is possible to have closed or semi-closed heating loopsfor processes, and to improve energy efficiency of the processes byreducing heat losses through flue gas. In conventional heaters, fluegases can be recycled only partly.

Additionally, the present solution enables improved optimization of thetemperature difference(s) in the heat exchangers in indirect heating.

The invention further provides for flexibly using electrical energy,such as electrical energy obtainable from renewable sources. Productionof renewable energy varies on daily basis and even on hourly basis. Theinvention allows for balancing renewable electricity production byintegration of the rotary apparatus disclosed herewith with conventionalfuel-operated (fuel-fired) heaters to provide heat to thehigh-temperature material production process, for example.

The invention further enables a reduction in the on-site investmentcosts as compared to traditional fossil fired furnaces.

The expression “a number of” refers hereby to any positive integerstarting from one (1), e.g. to one, two, or three. The expression “aplurality of” refers hereby to any positive integer starting from two(2), e.g. to two, three, or four. The terms “first” and “second”, areused hereby to merely distinguish an element from another elementwithout indicating any particular order or importance, unless explicitlystated otherwise.

The term “gasified” is utilized hereby to indicate matter beingconverted into a gaseous form by any possible means.

Different embodiments of the present invention will become apparent byconsideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram representing, at 1000, a layout for a hightemperature heat-consuming process facility provided as a facility formanufacturing high-temperature materials and configured to implement amethod according to the embodiments.

FIGS. 2A-2D are exemplary layouts of arranging rotary apparatus(es) 100within the high-temperature material production facility, according tothe embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein withthe reference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram representing, at 1000, a layout for ahigh-temperature material production facility configured to implement amethod according to the embodiments. FIGS. 2A-2D describe apparatusesand methods according to the embodiments. Figures and related examplesserve illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit applicabilityof the inventive concept to the layouts expressly presented in thisdisclosure. Block diagram sections shown by dotted lines are optional.

Manufacturing high-temperature materials, such as glass, glass wool,carbon fiber, carbon nanotubes, and clay-based materials, including butnot limited to bricks, ceramics, porcelain, and tile, wherein tile maybe formed from ceramics or porcelain, for example, has high thermal(heat) energy demand and consumption and, in conventional solutions(viz. outside the heat integration scheme 1000 presented herewith),produce considerable industrial emissions such as carbon dioxide intothe atmosphere. The present disclosure offers apparatuses and methodsfor inputting thermal energy into high-temperature materialmanufacturing process or processes 101, whereby energy efficiency ofsaid process can be markedly improved and/or the amount of airpollutants released into the atmosphere can be reduced. Layout 1000(FIG. 1 ) schematically outlines these improved facility and method.

The heat-consuming process facility 1000 is a facility configured tocarry out a heat-consuming industrial process or processes related tohigh-temperature material production at temperatures essentially equalto or exceeding 500 degrees Celsius (° C.). Facility 1000 can berepresented with an industrial plant, a factory, or any industrialsystem comprising equipment designed to perform the above-mentionedheat-consuming industrial process(es) related to high-temperaturematerial production.

The heat-consuming industrial process or processes 101 is/are providedas any one: heating of sand, limestone, soda ash, and recycled glass toform glass and/or glass wool; anaerobic carbonization of oxygenatedpolyacrylonitrile to form carbon fibers; disproportionation ofhigh-pressure carbon monoxide to form carbon nanotubes; catalyticchemical vapor deposition acetylene over carbon and iron catalysts toform carbon nanotubes; or thermally processing clay-based material,through heating, drying or burning, for example, to form bricks,ceramic, or porcelain, depending on the shape and precise composition ofthe clay.

In embodiments, facility 1000 is configured to carry out theheat-consuming industrial process(es) related to high-temperaturematerial production at temperatures within a range of 500-1700° C. Inembodiments, facility 1000 is configured to carry out the heat-consumingindustrial process(es) related to high-temperature material productionwhich start at temperatures essentially within a range of about 800-900°C. or higher. In embodiments, facility 1000 is configured to carry outthe heat-consuming industrial process(es) related to high-temperaturematerial production at temperatures essentially equal to- or exceeding1000° C. In embodiments, facility 1000 is configured to carry out theheat-consuming industrial process(es) related to high-temperaturematerial production which start at temperatures essentially within arange of about 1100-1200° C. or higher. In embodiments, the facility isconfigured to carry out the heat-consuming industrial process(es)related to high-temperature material production at temperaturesessentially equal to- or exceeding 1200° C. In embodiments, the facilityis configured to carry out the heat-consuming industrial process(es)related to high-temperature material production at temperatures within arange of about 1300-1700° C. In embodiments, the facility is configuredto carry out the heat-consuming industrial process(es) related tohigh-temperature material production at temperatures essentially equalto- or exceeding 1500° C. In embodiments, the facility is configured tocarry out the heat-consuming industrial process(es) related tohigh-temperature material production at temperatures essentially equalto- or exceeding 1700° C. In some embodiments, the facility can beconfigured to carry out industrial process(es) related tohigh-temperature material production at temperatures that exceed 1700°C., such as at 2000° C. or higher, such as within a range of about 1700°C. to about 2500° C. The facility can be configured to carry outindustrial process(es) related to high-temperature material productionat about 1700° C., at about 1800° C., at about 1900° C., at about 2000°C., at about 2100° C., at about 2200° C., at about 2300° C., at about2400° C., at about 2500° C., and at any temperature value falling inbetween the above-mentioned temperature points. It should be pointed outthat facility 1000 is not excluded from carrying out of at least a partof industrial processes at temperatures below 500° C.

In embodiments, the method comprises generation of a heated fluidicmedium such as air, oxygen, fuel enriched air, steam, nitrogen (N₂),hydrogen (H₂), carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane or any other(flue) gas, by virtue of a rotary heater unit 100 comprising orconsisting of at least one rotary apparatus, hereafter, the apparatus100. For the sake of clarity, the rotary heater unit is designated inthe present disclosure by the same reference number, 100, as the rotaryapparatus. The rotary heater unit is preferably integrated into thehigh-temperature material production facility 1000. In an embodiment,the heated fluidic medium is produced by the at least one rotaryapparatus, however, in some embodiments, a plurality of rotaryapparatuses may be used in parallel or series.

The rotary apparatus 100 can be provided as a standalone apparatus or asa number of apparatuses arranged in series (in sequence) or in parallel.One or more apparatuses may be connected to a common heat-consuming unit101, such as a furnace or a kiln, for example. Connection may be director through a number of heat exchangers.

The heat-consuming unit(s)/utility(/ies) 101 for manufacturing ofhigh-temperature materials includes various kilns, furnaces, heaters,dryers, mixers, etc. In some configurations, a number of rotaryapparatus units 100 can be connected to several heat-consuming utilities101. Different configurations may be conceived, such as n+x rotaryapparatuses connected to n utilities (e.g. furnaces), wherein n is equalto or more than zero (0) and x is equal to or more than one (1). Thus,in some configurations, the facility 1000 and, in particular, the rotaryheater unit 100, may comprise one, two, three or four parallel rotaryapparatus units connected to the common heat-consuming unit, such as afurnace, for example; the number of rotary apparatuses exceeding four(4) is not excluded. When connecting, in parallel, a number of rotaryapparatuses to the common heat-consuming unit, one or more of saidapparatuses 100 may have different type of drive engine, e.g. theelectric motor driven reactor(s) can be combined with those driven bysteam turbine, gas turbine and/or gas engine.

In an embodiment, an amount of input energy E₁ is conducted into the atleast one rotary apparatus 100 integrated, as a (rotary) heater unit,into the process facility 1000. The input energy E₁ preferably compriseselectrical energy. In embodiments, the amount of electrical energyconducted as the input energy into the at least one rotary apparatusintegrated in the heat-consuming process facility is provided within arange of about 5 to about 100 percent, preferably, within a range ofabout 50 to about 100 percent. Thus, the amount of electrical energyconducted as the input energy into the at least one rotary apparatusintegrated in the heat-consuming process facility can constitute any oneof: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85,90, 95, and 100 percent (from the total energy input), or anyintermediate value falling in between the above indicated points.

Electrical energy can be supplied from external or internal source. Inpractice, electrical input energy E1 supplied into the apparatus can bedefined in terms of electric power, the latter being defined as a rateof energy transfer per unit time (measured in Watt).

In embodiments, the heated fluidic medium generated in the rotaryapparatus 100 is supplied into a process or processes related toproducing high-temperature materials in a high-temperature materialproduction facility 1000 and implemented in heat-consuming units withinthe high-temperature material production facility. In embodiments, theheat-consuming process(es)/units 101 include, but are not limited with:a process of heating heat sand, limestone, soda ash, and recycled glassto produce glass in the high-temperature material production facility1000 configured hereby as a high-temperature glass production facility;a process of melting glass to produce molten glass or a process ofcuring glass in the high-temperature material production facility 1000configured hereby as a high-temperature glass wool production facility;a process of carbonizing polyacrylonitrile fibers to form carbon fibersin the high-temperature material production facility 1000 configuredhereby as a high-temperature carbon fiber production facility; a processof effecting disproportionation of high-pressure carbon monoxide to formcarbon nanotubes in the high-temperature material production facility1000 configured hereby as a high-temperature carbon nanotube productionfacility; a process of burning bricks in the high-temperature materialproduction facility 1000 configured hereby as a high-temperature brickproduction facility, a process of burning ceramic in thehigh-temperature material production facility 1000 configured hereby asa high-temperature ceramic production facility, a process of burningporcelain in the high-temperature material production facility 1000configured hereby as a porcelain production facility, or a combinationthereof.

The method, according to the embodiments, concerns generating heatedfluidic medium for inputting thermal energy into a number of processes101 aiming at producing various materials, including but not limited to:glass, glass wool, carbon fiber, carbon nanotubes, bricks, ceramics,porcelain, and tile formed from ceramics or porcelain, for example.Mentioned high-temperature materials are typically produced andoptionally post-processed in furnaces operating at high temperatures.Thus, production of these high-temperature materials is an energydemanding process.

A number of heat-consuming processes 101 configured to exploit heatedfluidic medium generated in the rotary apparatus 100 include at leastthe ones described herein below.

Production of glass and glass wool.

Feedstock materials for glass and glass wool production comprise sand,limestone, soda ash, and recycled glass. The sand and recycled glass areheated to temperatures of around 1400° C. to 1500° C. to produce glass.In some embodiments, the glass is subsequently heated in a furnace toaround 1100° C. to produce molten glass, which is subsequently spun intofibers. In other embodiments, the initial production of glass isdirectly spun into glass fibers without an intervening cooling step. Theglass fibers are then cured in an oven at around 250° C. to produceglass wool. In embodiments, the method is effective to produce glasswool from sand and recycled glass, including the intermediate steps ofproducing glass, producing molten glass, and curing glass fibers. Inembodiments, the method is effective to produce glass from sand andrecycled glass. In embodiments, the method is effective to producemolten glass from glass. Since the production of glass wool includesseveral high-temperature steps, a plurality of rotary apparatus may beused to recycle heat and/or energy between the high-temperature steps.

Manufacturing of carbon fiber and carbon nanotubes.

Manufacturing of carbon fiber involves both chemical and mechanicalprocesses. About 90% of the carbon fibers that are produced are madefrom polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The raw material, also called precursor,is drawn into long strands or fibers and then heated to a very hightemperature without allowing it to come in contact with oxygen in socalled carbonization process.

Before the fibers are carbonized, they need to be stabilized chemicallyto convert their linear atomic bonding to a more thermally stable ladderbonding. This is accomplished by heating the fibers in air to about200-300° C. for 30-120 minutes. This causes the fibers to pick up oxygenmolecules from the air and rearrange their atomic bonding pattern. Inthe carbonization step, the raw materials are heated to hightemperatures (1000-3000° C.) in an oxygen-free environment. Rather thanburning, the extreme heat causes the fiber atoms to vibrate so thatalmost all non-carbon atoms are expelled.

The gas pressure inside the furnace is kept higher than the outside airpressure and the points where the fibers enter and exit the furnace aresealed to keep oxygen from entering. As the fibers are heated, theybegin to lose their non-carbon atoms, plus a few carbon atoms, in theform of various gases including water vapor, ammonia, carbon monoxide,carbon dioxide, hydrogen, nitrogen, and others. As the non-carbon atomsare expelled, the remaining carbon atoms form tightly bonded carboncrystals that are aligned more or less parallel to the long axis of thefiber. The carbonization may involve two furnaces in order to bettercontrol the temperatures and the carbonization process: one fortemperatures of around 700-900° C. and another one with temperatures oftypically around 1300-1500° C.

After the carbonization process is complete, the remaining fiber is madeup of long, tightly interlocked carbon atom chains with few or nonon-carbon atoms remaining. These fibers are subsequently woven intofabric or combined with other materials that can be shaped to thedesired shape and form.

The rotary apparatus 100 is ideal for providing the high temperaturesand process conditions required in carbon fiber manufacturing. The fluidheated in the rotary apparatus can be oxygen-free and used directly inthe carbonization process or alternatively a heat exchanger can be used.

The rotary apparatus can also be used for supplying the required heatingin the stabilization part of the manufacturing process.

Carbon nanotubes can be manufactured using high-pressure carbon monoxidedisproportionation (HiPCO), which takes place at temperatures between900-1100 C. Application of heating carbon monoxide to such high reactiontemperatures would be ideal for the rotary apparatus.

Also, several other technologies for carbon nanotube manufacturingrequiring temperatures of 500° C. to 1400° C. have been developed. Theseinvolve production of carbon nanotubes through chemical vapor deposition(CVD) where carbon nanotubes can be formed by catalytic CVD of acetyleneover cobalt and iron catalysts supported on silica or zeolite. Therotary apparatus can provide the required heating and process conditionsfor the CVD based carbon nanotube manufacturing processes.

Another process to produce carbon nanotubes is the so-called ballmilling process where temperatures of around 1400° C. are required forthe annealing of grinded graphite powder. The rotary apparatus can beutilized to create the required heat for the annealing of the graphitepowder to produce the carbon nanotubes.

Manufacturing of clay-based materials.

Clay-based materials encompass a wide variety of materials and products,including, but not limited to ceramic, porcelain (being technically atype of ceramic), and related products, as well as bricks and tile.

Clay is a major precursor material for producing bricks, typicallyadmixed with other precursors (e.g. shale, lime, concrete, fly ashetc.). The process of manufacturing of bricks from clay involvespreparation of clay, molding and hydraulic compaction, and thermalprocessing, such as drying and burning, of the bricks.

In the burning phase of the process the dried bricks are burned inclamps (small scale) or in kilns (large scale) in order to achieve therequired hardness and strength for the final product. The requiredmaximum temperature is approximately 1000-1200° C. to optimize the brickstrength and to avoid the chances of moisture absorption from theatmosphere. Traditionally, the kilns have been mostly fired with solidfossil fuels, namely coal and more recently also natural gas and othergaseous or liquid fossil fuels. The kilns may consist of several stageswith different temperature levels. The rotary apparatus can act as aheat source to the kilns that are used in the burning of the bricks.

Ceramic tiles follow the manufacturing process of bricks rather closelyapart from the shape and form of the tiles. However, the manufacturingof glazed tiles requires pouring or spraying of the glaze liquid ontothe tile prior to the burning phase. The burning takes then place insimilar temperatures as for ordinary bricks. Porcelain bricks containapproximately 50% of feldspar and require higher temperatures in theburning phase than ceramic tiles or bricks. In porcelain manufacturingtemperatures of 1300-1400° C. are required. The rotary apparatus isdirectly applicable to produce the required heating for ceramic tile andporcelain manufacturing regardless of the shape of the furnace or kilnused.

Other clay-based materials include expanded clay aggregates, such asLECA (lightweight expanded clay aggregate), which is manufactured byexpanding a mixture of clay and additives at high temperatures,typically around 1150° C. Manufacturing is usually implemented in arotating kiln (101) where fossil fuel is fired in a burner and thusgenerated hot flue gases flow counter-currently to the solid materials.Rotation of the slightly inclined kiln improves the gas-liquid contactand enables flow of the solid material towards. The LECA product is asintered, expanded granulated material that is both lightweight anddurable and can be used as material-efficient construction material.

Manufacturing of lime, cement, and/or aluminum oxide.

In addition to production processes aiming at manufacturing ofclay-based materials, as described above, other processes that requirehigh temperatures and moderate to high residence times in order toimplement gas-solid heating processes include but are not limited to:manufacturing and recovery of lime, manufacturing of cement and/ormanufacturing of aluminum oxide. These processes are conducted incorresponding heat-consuming units 101 configured as kilns or furnaces.

Kilns, such as rotary kilns are process units that are commonly used forindustrial production of high temperature materials, typically through aprocess of calcination. Calcination can be defined as heating of solidsto a high temperature for the purpose of removing volatile substances,oxidizing a portion of mass, or rendering them friable (pulverized).Kilns typically operate counter-currently with a hot gas originatingfrom fuel burning, wherein the hot gas flows counter-currently to solidmaterials being heated. To enable the flow of solid materials, kilns aretypically slightly inclined towards the hot gas source and rotate alongtheir axis. Rotation provides mixing for the solid and improves thecontact between hot gas and heated solid. The kiln can be equipped withspecially designed lifters to improve the heat and mass exchange in thekiln.

Lime manufacturing and recovery processes utilize fresh limestone(calcium carbonate, CaCO₃), or limestone recovered from chemicalprocesses that involve calcination or re-calcination of limestone tolime, such as for example pulp manufacturing. Lime (calcium oxide, CaO)is formed when carbon dioxide is released from calcium carbonate in anendothermic reaction that takes place at temperatures of about 550° C.to about 1150° C., preferably, within a range of about 850-950° C. Limecalcination, sometimes referred to as lime burning, is carried out inkilns or calciners of various designs that include shaft furnaces,rotary kilns, multiple hearth furnaces, and fluidized bed reactors.Independent of a process type, hot gas from fuel firing is typicallyused as heat source for calcination.

Calcination of limestone to lime is also a core process in cementmanufacturing.

Aluminum oxide (alumina, Al₂O₃) is a ceramic material that has a varietyof uses ranging from electrical insulation to a catalyst carriermaterial. Aluminum oxide is produced from aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)₃)that is typically refined from bauxite (the latter being the mostimportant aluminium-containing mineral). Aluminium hydroxide is calcinedinto aluminium oxide at high temperatures, typically exceeding 1100° C.,in a kiln-type calciner.

In cement manufacturing, reactivity of a cement product can be improvedby mixing it with thermally or chemically activated clay. Clay can bemixed with cement raw materials (e.g. limestone) and thermally activatedin a clinker kiln, or a separate clay activation kiln may be utilized.In the kiln, clay is dried, heated and activated at temperatures up toabout 900° C. using hot flue gases originating from burning fuels. Themethod disclosed herein enables connecting and/or integrating the atleast one rotary apparatus 100 to any one of the above mentionedprocesses to supply thermal energy into kilns, furnaces or otherheat-consuming units used in manufacturing of high-temperaturematerials. Indeed, all above example involve utilization offossil-derived fuels, such as natural gas, crude oil-derived fuels orcoal, which are combusted in the furnace or kiln to producehigh-temperature flue gases needed to heat solid materials in saidfurnace or kiln to required temperatures. The rotary apparatus 100connected to said furnace or kiln can effectively replace fuel-firedburners and the heated fluidic medium generated in said apparatus 100can thus be used instead of hot flue gases produced in the furnace/kiln.By heating inert gases, such as air, (water) steam or nitrogen, totemperatures sufficient to be used in production of high-temperaturematerials in accordance with the examples above, e.g. in heating solidsto required temperatures, the rotary apparatus (hence replacing thefuel-fired burners in the furnace or kiln) allows for reducing an amountof fossil-derived fuels required for manufacturing processes and formarkedly decreasing greenhouse gas emissions produced in said processes,accordingly. In an event recycling of kiln/furnace flue gases isimplemented, energy efficiency of the manufacturing process can beincreased (see description to FIG. 2D).

Particulars of some embodiments of the invention, as implemented in thefacility layout of FIG. 1 , are described along the following lines. ForFIG. 1 , the following designations are used for the members. Streams:1. Feed; 2. Preheated feed or feed mixture; 3. Feed heated by virtue ofa rotary apparatus 100; 4. Feed further heated in an additional(booster) heater unit configured to raise/enhance temperature through(exothermic) chemical reactions, for example; 5. Hot fluidic mediumexiting the heat-consuming process 101; 6. Fluidic medium directed topurification; 7. Product stream and/or waste gas; 8. Reactive compoundor a mixture of reactive compounds, e.g. a reactive chemical orchemicals, or a support fuel used to increase temperature of thefluid/gas in the additional heater unit 103; 9. Process stream (solid,liquid, gas, vapor or a mixture thereof) to be heated by the hot fluidicmedium in the heat-consuming process 101 (indirect heater applications);10. Heated process stream (solid, liquid, gas, vapor or a mixturethereof) sent for further processing and/or storage (indirect heaterapplications); 11. Recycle stream exiting from purification; 12. Feedstream to heat recovery; 13. Hot fluidic stream from heat recovery.Sections (units): 100. Rotary heater unit (rotary apparatus(es)); 101.Heat-consuming operational (process) unit, such as a furnace or kiln,depending on the particular high-temperature material being produced;102. Preheater unit; 103. Additional heating apparatus (booster heaterunit); 104. Heat recovery unit; 105. Purification unit.

The heat-consuming process(es) is/are designated by a reference numeral101 and in this embodiment is a furnace or kiln for making any one of:glass, glass wool, carbon fiber, carbon nanotubes, bricks, ceramic, orporcelain, each of which include one or more high temperature processingsteps where typically fuel gas or coal is incinerated to achieve hightemperatures. Such operating steps include pre-heating of gases prior tothe gases entering the furnace or kiln.

The rotary apparatus 100 is configured to receive a feed stream 1,hereafter, the feed 1. Overall, the feed 1 can comprise or consist ofany fluid, such as liquid or gas or a combination thereof, provided as apure component or a mixture of components. The feed can be a feedstockgas, a process gas, a make-up gas (a so-called replacement/supplementgas), and the like. Gaseous feed can include inert gases (air, nitrogengas, and the like) or reactive, e.g. oxygen, flammable gases, such ashydrocarbons, or any other gas like hydrogen and ammonia. Selection ofthe feed is process-dependent; that is, the nature of the heat-consumingprocess 101 (and indeed a specific industry/an area of industry saidheat-consuming process 101 is assigned to) implies certain requirementsand/or limitations on the selection of feed substance(s). Therefore, inthe manufacture of glass, glass wool, carbon nanotubes, and clay-basedmaterials the feed 1 is typically air or a combination or air andadditional oxygen or combustion fuel. In the manufacture of carbonfiber, the feed 1 is typically an oxygen-free gas, such as pre-heatedcarbon dioxide or an inert gas. Additionally or alternatively, feed 1may include any one of: (water) steam, nitrogen (N₂), hydrogen (H₂),carbon monoxide (CO), and methane (CH₄).

It is preferred that the feed 1 enters the apparatus 100 in essentiallygaseous form. Preheating of the feed or conversion of liquid oressentially liquid feed(s) into a gaseous form can be performed in anoptional preheater unit 102 configured as a (pre)heater apparatus or agroup of apparatuses. In the preheater unit 102, the feed stream(s)originally provided in a gaseous form (e.g. the process gas or gases)can be further heated (e.g. superheated). In the preheater unit 102, thefeed 1 can be vaporized if not already in gas form and optionallysuperheated.

The preheater unit 102 can be any conventional device/system configuredto provide heat to fluidic substance. In some configurations, thepreheater unit 102 can be a fired heater (viz. a direct-fired heatexchanger that uses hot combustion gases (flue gases) to raise thetemperature of a fluidic feed, such as a process fluid, flowing throughthe coils arranged inside the heater). Additionally or alternatively,the preheater unit 102 can be configured to exploit energy madeavailable by the other units in the heat-consuming facility (for exampleby extracting thermal energy from hot stream 13 arriving from heatrecovery). The preheater unit 102 can thus be configured to utilizeother steam streams, as well as electricity and/or waste heat streams(not shown).

Depending on a heat-consuming process and related equipment, which inthis embodiment is the production of high-temperature materials, thefeed stream 1 used to produce the heated fluidic medium, such as air, byvirtue of the rotary heater unit (the apparatus 100) comprises a virginfeed (fresh feed) and/or recycle stream(s). Hence, the feed 1 mayconsist of any one of fresh feed, recycle (fluidic) stream, and amixture thereof. Stream 2 representing (pre)heated feed may include, inaddition to feed 1, all recycle streams, such as those arriving from apurification section 105 and/or a heat recovery section 104.

In the rotary heater unit/the rotary apparatus 100, the temperature israised to a level which is required by the heat-consuming process 101 orto a maximum level achieved by the rotary apparatus. In an event thetemperature rise achieved by the rotary apparatus 100 is not sufficientfor the heat-consuming process and/or if, for example, the temperatureof the fluid needs to be raised again after it has transferred its heatto the heat-consuming process, further temperature rise can be achievedby virtue of arranging additional heater units (100B, 103), furtherreferred to as “booster” heater(s), downstream of the rotary heater unit100 (100A); rf. description to FIG. 2B. Each additional heater unitcomprises or consists of an additional heating apparatus implementedaccording to the description below.

In heat-consuming processes such as the production of high-temperaturematerials described herein, the main sources of heat consumption areheating of working fluids and/or associated equipment and endothermicreactions (reactions that require external energy to proceed). In someapplications it is feasible to recover heat from heat-consumingprocesses 101. Heat recovery section is indicated on FIG. 1 with ref no.104. Recovered heat can be further used for heating the feed stream 1and/or a recycle stream (separate recycle stream is indicated on FIG. 1with ref. no. 11).

Heat recovery may be arranged through collecting gases exiting theprocess unit 101 and recycling these gases to the preheater unit 102and/or the rotary apparatus 100. The heat recovery installation 104 maybe represented with at least one heat exchanger device (not shown). Heatexchangers based on any appropriate technology can be utilized. Heatrecovery may be optional for heating feed gas if the heat is consumedelsewhere or if it is not possible to recover heat due to safety- or anyother reason.

In the facility layout 1000, the heat recovery unit 104 can be arrangedbefore and/or after the preheater 102. In the latter configuration, theheat recovery unit 104 is arranged to recover heat from the hot fluidicmedium (stream 5) flowing from the high-temperature materialmanufacturing process 101, which may be further utilized to heat thefeed stream 1 and recycle stream 11. On the other hand, when the heatrecovery unit 104 is arranged before the preheater 102, the feed 1 isfirst led to the unit 104 (as stream 12) and then returned to preheating102 as stream 13. In such a case, unit 104 acts as a first preheater.

In some instances, gases require purification, e.g. from dust and fineparticles, before being directed to heat recovery. Purification can bedone by a series of filters, for example, arranged before the heatrecovery section 104 (not shown). Additionally or alternatively thegases exiting the process unit 101 may be directed to a purificationunit 105 (bypassing the unit 104), and, after purification, returned tothe heat recovery (not shown).

Process gas may contain in addition to valuable products also unwantedimpurities and side products which may accumulate or/and be harmful forheater apparatus(-es) 100, 103 and/or the process units 101 throughcausing corrosion and poisoning catalytic beds. Purification andseparation of streams discharged from heat-consuming processes 101 isperformed in the purification unit 105. Unit 105 can comprise a numberof appliances, such as filters, cyclones etc., adapted to mechanicallyremove dust and solid particles. Any conventionalpurification/separation methods and devices may be utilized. Exemplarypurification/separation methods include, but are not limited to:cryogenic separation methods, membrane processes, Pressure SwingAdsorption (PSA), distillation, absorption, and any combination of thesemethods. The unit 105 may also comprise device configured to increasegas pressure by compression, for example. Typically, purification units105 operate at lower temperatures than process units 101; therefore,prior to entering the purification unit, a product gas stream is cooleddown (in the heat recovery 104, for example). To minimize the extent ofdeterioration of reactor beds in 101, it is also important to controlcomposition of the recycle gas 11.

Purification unit 105 can be further adapted to purify waste gas(es),e.g. carbon dioxide, for further carbon capture. Waste gases dischargedfrom the high-temperature material production facility as stream 7 (FIG.1 ) can thus be further directed to carbon capture (not shown). Suitablemethods for purification of waste gases include for example PSA,distillation, absorption, etc.

Heated fluidic medium required for carrying out the heat-consumingprocess(es) 101 is generated by virtue of at least one rotary apparatus100.

In an embodiment, the heated fluidic medium is generated in the rotaryapparatus 100, where an amount of thermal energy is added directly intofluidic medium propagated through said apparatus. In such an event, theheated fluidic medium generated in the rotary apparatus may be forexample a process gas, such as hydrocarbon-containing gas (see FIG. 1 ,streams 1-4, particularly stream 2), while the hot fluidic medium 5 thatexits the heat-consuming unit 101 may represents a product-containingstream. In direct heating, streams 1-5 relate to a working-or processfluid.

The heated fluidic medium generated in the rotary apparatus can befurther used as a carrier to transfer thermal energy to theheat-consuming unit 101 configured to implement or mediate aheat-consuming process or processes (101) related to manufacturing ofhigh-temperature materials. For example, an inert gas such as air,nitrogen or steam (H₂O) can be heated in the rotary apparatus 100 andfurther used to convey the heat generated by the rotary apparatus to thefurnace adapted to perform the process 101 related to manufacturing ofhigh-temperature materials. In this regard, generation of a heatedmedium (e.g. fluidic or solid streams exploited by the process 101) canbe performed outside the rotary apparatus through a process of heattransfer between the heated fluidic medium generated in the rotaryapparatus and a suitable medium exploited by the process 101 and thusbypassing the rotary apparatus. FIG. 1 thus shows stream 9 (a processstream) bypassing the rotary apparatus 100 and designating, in presentcontext, the feed/process stream (e.g. sand, limestone, concrete, ash,recycled glass and other precursor materials used in high-temperaturematerials manufacturing), while streams 1-4 arriving to the process unit101 via the rotary heater 100 designate fluidic medium (e.g. air,nitrogen, steam or other inert heating media) directed to the processunit 101 for heating the “cold” process stream 9. Use of optionallyinert hot gases as heating media in indirect heating applications may bepreferred when the process streams to be heated are at high pressure orunder vacuum. Stream 10 represents a “hot” process stream and/or aproduct stream, respectively. In indirect heating, streams 9 and 10relate to a working- or process fluid, whereas streams 1-5 represent aheat-transfer medium. Hence, in indirect heating, the unit 101 acts as a“heat-exchanger” type of device which enables transfer of thermal energybetween two fluids flowing therethrough without any direct contactbetween said fluids. In an event of indirect heating, the fluid heatedin 100 may be same or different from the process fluid used in theheat-consuming unit/process 101; however, typically it is different.

The rotary apparatus 100 configured for generating the heated fluidicmedium to be supplied into the high-temperature material productionfacility according to the embodiments comprises a rotor comprising aplurality of rotor blades arranged into at least one row over acircumference of a rotor hub or a rotor disk mounted onto a rotor shaft,and a casing with at least one inlet and at least one exit, the rotorbeing enclosed within the casing. In the apparatus 100, an amount ofthermal energy is imparted to a stream of fluidic medium directed alonga flow path formed inside the casing between the inlet and the exit byvirtue of a series of energy transformations occurring when said streamof fluidic medium passes through the at least one row of rotor bladeswhen propagating inside the casing of the rotary apparatus, between theinlet and the exit, whereby a stream of heated fluidic medium isgenerated.

Implementation of the rotary apparatus 100 may generally follow thedisclosures of a rotary reactor apparatus according to the U.S. Pat. No.7,232,937 (Bushuev), U.S. Pat. No. 9,494,038 (Bushuev) and U.S. Pat. No.9,234,140 (Seppälä et al), and of a radial reactor apparatus accordingto the U.S. patent U.S. Pat. No. 10,744,480 (Xu & Rosic), the entirecontents of which are incorporated by reference herewith. Any otherimplementation, which can be configured to adopt the method according tothe embodiments, can be utilized.

In the patent documents referenced above, the rotary turbomachine-typeapparatuses were designed as reactors for processing hydrocarbons, inparticular, for steam cracking. General requirements for theseapplications are: rapid heating of gases, high temperature, shortresidence time, and plug flow (a flow model which implies no axialmixing). These requirements have led to designs where the turbomachinetype reactors have several heating stages accommodated in a relativelysmall volume.

The present disclosure is based on an observation that the rotaryapparatus (including, but not limited to the ones referenced above) canbe electrified and used as a heater to generate the heated fluidicmedium further supplied in the heat-consuming process 101, such as aprocess or processes related to high-temperature material production. Byintegration of the rotary apparatus heater unit(s) into theheat-consuming process or processes, significant reductions ingreenhouse gas- and particle emissions can be achieved. By way ofexample, the rotary apparatus can replace fuel-fired heaters in avariety of applications (described hereinbelow). The temperature rangecan be extended from about 1000° C. (generally achievable with the abovereferenced reactor devices) to up to at least about 1700° C. and furtherup to 2500° C. Construction of the rotary apparatuses capable ofachieving these high temperatures is possible due to an absence ofaerodynamic hurdles.

The rotary apparatus 100 integrated into the high-temperature materialproduction facility according to the embodiments and configured togenerate the heated fluidic medium for the method(s) according to theembodiment thus comprises the rotor shaft positioned along a horizontal(longitudinal) axis with at least one rotor unit mounted onto the rotorshaft. The rotor unit comprises a plurality of rotor (working) bladesarranged over the circumference of a rotor hub or a rotor disk andtogether forming a rotor blade cascade. The rotary apparatus 100 thuscomprises a plurality of rotor (working) blades arranged into at leastone row over the circumference of a rotor hub or a rotor disk mountedonto the rotor shaft, and forming an essentially annular rotor bladeassembly or rotor blade cascade.

In embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a plurality ofstationary vanes arranged into an assembly disposed at least upstream ofthe at least one row of rotor blades. In this configuration, the rotaryapparatus is operated such that the amount of thermal energy is impartedto a stream of fluidic medium directed along a flow path formed insidethe casing between the inlet and the exit by virtue of a series ofenergy transformations occurring when said stream of fluidic mediumpasses through the stationary vanes and the at least one row of rotorblades, respectively, whereby a stream of heated fluidic medium isgenerated.

In some embodiments, the plurality of stationary vanes can be arrangedinto a stationary vane cascade (a stator), provided as an essentiallyannular assembly upstream of the at least one row of rotor blades. Thestationary vanes arranged into the assembly disposed upstream of the atleast one row of rotor blades may be provided as stationary guide vanes,such as (inlet) guiding vanes (IGV), and be configured, in terms ofprofiles, dimensions and disposition thereof around the central shaft,to direct the fluid flow into the rotor in a predetermined directionsuch, as to control and, in some instances, to maximize therotor-specific work input capability.

The rotary apparatus can be configured with two or more essentiallyannular rows of rotor blades (rotor blade cascades) sequentiallyarranged on/along the rotor shaft. In such an event, the stationaryguide vanes may be installed upstream of the first row of the rotorblades, upstream of each row of rotor blades in the sequence, orupstream of any selected row of rotor blades in a sequential arrangementof the latter.

In embodiments, the rotary apparatus 100 further comprises a diffuserarea arranged downstream of the at least one row of rotor blades (rotorblade cascade). In this configuration, the rotary apparatus is operatedsuch that an amount of thermal energy is imparted to a stream of fluidicmedium directed along a flow path formed inside the casing between theinlet and the exit by virtue of a series of energy transformationsoccurring when said stream of fluidic medium successively passes throughthe stationary guide vanes, the at least one row of rotor blades and thediffuser area, respectively, whereby a stream of heated fluidic mediumis generated. The diffuser area can be configured with or withoutstationary diffuser vanes. In some configurations, a vaned or vanelessdiffuser is arranged, in said diffuser area, downstream of the at leastone rotor blade cascade. In some configurations, the diffuser can beimplemented as a plurality of stationary (stator) vanes arranged into adiffuser vane cascade, provided as an essentially annular assemblydownstream of the rotor.

The rotor, the stationary guide vanes and the diffuser area are enclosedwithin an internal passageway (a duct) formed in the casing.

In some configurations, such as described for example in U.S. Pat. No.10,744,480 to Xu and Rosic, provision of a diffuser (device) may beomitted, and the diffuser area may be represented with an essentiallyvaneless portion of the duct (a so-called vaneless space) locateddownstream of the rotor and configured, in terms of its geometry and/ordimensional parameters, to diffuse a high speed fluid flow arriving fromthe rotor.

Provision of the vaneless portion of the duct is common for allconfigurations of the rotary apparatus 100 described above. Depending onconfiguration, the vaneless portion (vaneless space) is arrangeddownstream of the rotor blades (rf. U.S. Pat. No. 10,744,480 to Xu andRosic) or downstream of the diffuser vane cascade (rf. U.S. Pat. No.9,494,038 to Bushuev and U.S. Pat. No. 9,234,140 to Seppälä et al). Insome configuration described for example by Seppälä et al, arrangementof rotating and stationary blade rows in the internal passageway withinthe casing is such that vaneless portion(s) is/are created between anexit from the stationary diffuser vanes disposed downstream of the rotorblades and an entrance to the stationary guide blades disposed upstreamof the rotor blades of a subsequent rotor blade cascade unit.

The terms “upstream” and “downstream” refer hereby to spatial and/orfunctional arrangement of structural parts or components with relationto a predetermined part- or component, hereby, the rotor, in a directionof fluidic flow stream throughout the apparatus (from inlet to exit).

Overall, the rotor with the working blade cascade can be positionedbetween the rows of stationary (stator) vanes arranged into essentiallyannular assemblies (referred to as cascades) at one or both sides of theworking blade row. Configurations including two or more rows of rotorblades/rotor blade cascades arranged in series (in sequence) on/alongthe rotor shaft may be conceived with or without stationary blades inbetween. In an absence of stationary vanes between the rotor blade rows,the speed of fluidic medium propagating through the duct increases ineach subsequent row. In such an event, a plurality of stationary vanesmay be arranged into assemblies upstream of a first rotor blade cascadein said sequence (as stationary guide vanes) and downstream of alastmost rotor blade cascade (as stationary diffuser vanes).

The row of rotor blades (rotor blade cascade) and a portion of the ductdownstream said rotor blades enclosed inside the casing optionallyprovided with an assembly of stationary diffuser vanes (diffuser area)may be viewed as a minimal process stage (hereafter, the stage),configured to mediate a complete energy conversion cycle. Hence, anamount of kinetic energy added to the stream of fluidic medium by atleast one row of rotating blades is sufficient to raise the temperatureof the fluidic medium to a predetermined value when said stream offluidic medium exits the rotor blades and propagates, in the duct,towards a subsequent row of rotor blades, or enters the same row ofrotor blades following an essentially helical trajectory formed withinthe essentially toroidal-shaped casing. The duct (which encloses theperiphery of the rotor) is preferably shaped such, that upon propagationof the fluidic stream in the duct, the stream decelerates and dissipateskinetic energy into an internal energy of the fluidic medium, and anamount of thermal energy is added to the stream of fluidic medium.

The stationary guide blade row(s) disposed upstream of the at least onerow of rotor blades prepare required flow conditions at the entrance ofthe rotating blade row (cascade) during the energy conversion cycle.

In some configurations, the process stage is established with theassembly of stationary guide vanes (upstream of the rotor blades), therow of rotor blades and the diffuser area arranged downstream of saidrotor blades, the diffuser area provided as the essentially vanelessportion of the duct optionally supplied with diffuser vanes. During theenergy conversion cycle, enabled with successive propagation of thestream of fluidic medium through the stationary guide vanes, the atleast one row of rotor blades and the diffuser area, respectively, in acontrolled manner, mechanical energy of the rotor shaft is convertedinto kinetic energy and further—into internal energy of the fluid,followed by the rise of fluid temperature. An amount of kinetic energyadded to the stream of fluidic medium by rotating blades of the rotor issufficient to raise the temperature of the fluidic medium to apredetermined value when said stream of fluidic medium exits the rotorblades and passes, inside the duct, through the diffuser area, whereuponthe stream decelerates and dissipates kinetic energy into an internalenergy of the fluidic medium, and an amount of thermal energy is addedto the stream of fluidic medium. In the rotor blade row, the flowaccelerates, and mechanical energy of the shaft and rotating blades istransferred to fluidic stream. In at least part of each rotor blade rowthe flow may reach a supersonic flow condition. In the diffuser area,the high-speed fluid flow arriving from the rotor is diffused with thesignificant entropy increase, whereby the flow dissipates kinetic energyinto the internal energy of the fluidic substance, thus providingthermal energy into the fluid. If the flow upstream of the diffuser issupersonic, the kinetic energy of the fluidic stream is converted intointernal energy of the fluid through a system of multiple shocks andviscous mixing and dissipation. An increase in the internal energy ofthe fluid results in a rise of fluid temperature. The energy conversionfunction may be performed by the vaneless portion of the duct locateddownstream of the rotor blades (rf. U.S. Pat. No. 10,744,480 to Xu &Rosic) and/or by an assembly of diffusing vanes, for example (rf. U.S.Pat. No. 9,234,140 to Seppälä et al).

The rotary apparatus 100 can be configured as a multistage- or asingle-stage solution. Multistage configurations can be conceivedcomprising a number of rotor units (e.g. 1-5 rows of rotor bladessequentially arranged on/along the rotor shaft) alternating with commondiffuser area(s) (vaneless or vaned).

In an exemplary configuration outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 9,234,140 toSeppälä et al, the rotary apparatus 100 can be implemented substantiallyin a shape of a ring torus, where a cross-section of the duct in themeridian plane forms a ring-shaped profile. The apparatus comprises arotor unit disposed between stationary guide vanes (nozzle vanes), andstationary diffusing vanes. The stages are formed with rows ofstationary nozzle vanes, rotor blades and diffusing vanes, through whichthe fluidic stream propagates, in a successive manner, following a flowpath established in accordance with an essentially helical trajectory.In this configuration, fluidic stream circulates through the rotatingrotor blade cascade a number of times while propagating inside theapparatus between the inlet and the exit. Similar ring-shapedconfiguration is described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,494,038 to Bushuev.

In another exemplary configuration outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 9,234,140to Seppälä et al, the rotary apparatus 100 can be configured as anessentially tubular, axial-type turbomachine. In such configuration, theapparatus comprises an extended (elongated) rotor hub, along which aplurality of rotor blades is arranged into a number of sequential rows.The rotor is enclosed within the casing, inner surface of which isprovided with the stationary (stator) vanes and diffuser vanes, arrangedsuch that blades/vanes of the stator, rotor- and diffuser cascadesalternate along the rotor hub in a longitudinal direction (along thelength of the rotor shaft, for inlet to exit). Blades of the rotorcascade at certain position along the rotor in the longitudinaldirection form the stage with the adjacent pairs of stationary guide(nozzle) vanes and diffusing vanes, respectively.

In described configurations, the subsequent stages have blade/vane-freespace between them.

In still another exemplary configuration outlined in U.S. Pat. No.10,744,480 to Xu and Rosic, the rotary apparatus 100 can be configuredas a radial turbomachine that generally follows a design for centrifugalcompressors or centrifugal pumps. The term “centrifugal” implies thatfluid flow within the device is radial; therefore, the apparatus may bereferred, in the present disclosure, as a “radial-flow apparatus. Theapparatus comprises a number of rotor units mounted onto elongatedshaft, wherein each rotor unit is preceded with stationary guide vanes.A vaneless portion of the duct shaped in a manner enabling energyconversion (U-bend or S-bend, for example) is located after the rotorunit(s). Additionally, configuration may comprise a separate diffuserdevice (vaned or vaneless) disposed downstream of the rotor.

In all configurations described above, the rotary apparatus 100performs, in the method disclosed herein, in similar manner. Inoperation, the amount of input energy conducted into the at least onerotary apparatus integrated into the heat-consuming process facility isconverted into mechanical energy of the rotor. Conditions in the rotaryapparatus are adjusted such, as to produce flow rate conditions, atwhich an amount of kinetic energy added to the stream of fluidic mediumby rotating blades of the rotor is sufficient to raise the temperatureof the fluidic medium to a predetermined value when said stream offluidic medium exits the at least one row rotor blades and passesthrough the duct and/or through the diffuser area to enter thesubsequent row of rotor blades or the same row of rotor blades inaccordance to the description above. The row(s) of rotor blades may bepreceded with stationary guide vanes. Hence, the adjustable conditioncomprises adjusting at least a flow of fluidic medium propagating insidethe casing of the rotary apparatus, between the inlet and the exit.Adjusting the flow may include adjusting such apparatus operationrelated parameters, as temperature, mass flow rate, pressure, etc.Additionally or alternatively, flow conditions can be adjusted bymodifying shape of the duct formed inside the casing.

In some exemplary configurations, the rotary apparatus can be configuredto implement a fluidic flow between its inlet(s) and outlet(s) along aflow path established in accordance with any one of: an essentiallyhelical trajectory formed within an essentially toroidal-shaped casing,as discussed in any one of the patent documents U.S. Pat. No. 9,494,038to Bushuev and U.S. Pat. No. 9,234,140 to Seppälä et al; an essentiallyhelical trajectory formed within an essentially tubular casing, asdiscussed in the patent document U.S. Pat. No. 9,234,140 to Seppälä etal; an essentially radial trajectory as discussed in the patent documentU.S. Pat. No. 10,744,480 to Xu & Rosic; and along the flow pathestablished by virtue of the stream of fluidic medium in the form of twospirals rolled up into vortex rings of right and left directions, asdiscussed in the patent document U.S. Pat. No. 7,232,937 to Bushuev).The aerodynamic design of the rotary apparatus can vary.

The rotary apparatus utilizes a drive engine. In preferred embodiments,the apparatus utilizes electrical energy as the input energy and istherefore electric motor-driven. For the purposes of the presentdisclosure, any appropriate type of electric motor (i.e. a devicecapable of transferring energy from an electrical source to a mechanicalload) can be utilized. Suitable coupling(s) arranged between a motordrive shaft and the rotor shaft, as well as various appliances, such aspower converters, controllers and the like, are not described herewith.Additionally, the apparatus can be directly driven by gas- or steamturbine, for example, or any other appropriate drive device. In layoutsinvolving parallel connection of a number of rotary apparatuses 100 to acommon heat-consuming unit 101, such as a furnace, for example, one ormore of said apparatuses may utilize different type of drive engine,e.g. the electric motor driven apparatuses can be combined with thosedriven by steam turbine, gas turbine and/or gas engine.

Electric power (defined as the rate of energy transfer per unit time)can be supplied into the rotary apparatus through supplying electriccurrent to the electric motor used to propel a rotary shaft of theapparatus. Supply of electric power into the rotary apparatus can beimplemented from an external source or sources (as related to the rotaryheater unit/the apparatus 100 and/or the heat-consuming process facility1000). Additionally or alternatively, electrical energy can be producedinternally, within the facility 1000.

An external source or sources include a variety of supporting facilitiesrendered for sustainable energy production. Thus, electric power can besupplied from an electricity generating system that exploits at leastone source of renewable energy or a combination of the electricitygenerating systems exploiting different sources of renewable energy.External sources of renewable energy can be provided as solar, wind-and/or hydropower. Thus, electric power may be received into the processfrom at least one of the following units: a photovoltaic electricitygenerating system, a wind-powered electricity generating system, and ahydroelectric power system. In some exemplary instances, a nuclear powerplant may be provided as the external source of electrical power.Nuclear power plants are generally regarded as emission-free. The term“nuclear power plant” should be interpreted as using traditional nuclearpower and, additionally or alternatively, fusion power.

Electricity can be supplied from a power plant that utilizes a turbineas a kinetic energy source to drive electricity generators. In someinstances, electric power to drive the at least one apparatus 100 can besupplied from at least one gas turbine (GT) provided as a separateinstallation or within a cogeneration facility and/or a combined cyclepower facility, for example. Electric power can thus be supplied from atleast one of the following units: a combined cycle power facility, suchas a combined cycle gas turbine plant (CCGT), and/or a cogenerationfacility configured for electricity production combined with heatrecovery and utilization through combined heat and power (CHP), forexample. In some examples, the CHP plant can be a biomass fired plant toincrease the share of renewable energy in the process described.Additionally or alternatively, supply of electric power can be realizedfrom a spark ignition engine, such as a gas engine, for example, and/ora compression engine, such as a diesel engine, for example, optionallyprovided as a part of an engine power plant. Still further, anyconventional power plant configured to produce electrical energy fromfossil raw materials, such as coal, oil, natural gas, gasoline, and thelike, typically mediated with the use of steam turbines, can be used togenerate electrical energy as an input energy for the rotary apparatus100. Also hydrogen can be utilized as a source of renewable energy, tobe reconverted into electricity, for example, using fuel cells.

Any combination of the abovementioned sources of electric power,realized as external and internal sources, may be conceived. Importinglow emission electric power from an alternative (external) sourceimproves energy efficiency of the heat-consuming process facility.

Conducting input energy, comprising electrical power, into a driveengine of the rotary apparatus can be further accompanied withconducting mechanical shaft power thereto from a power turbine, forexample, optionally utilizing thermal energy generated elsewhere in thefacility 1000 or outside said facility. Shaft power is defined asmechanical power transmitted from one rotating element to another andcalculated as a sum of the torque and the speed of rotation of theshaft. Mechanical power is defined, in turn, as an amount of work orenergy per unit time (measured in Watt).

In practice, the shaft power from the electric motor and the powerturbine, for example, can be divided so that any one of those canprovide the full shaft power or a fraction of it.

FIGS. 2A-2D show exemplary layouts for the rotary apparatus 100representing the rotary heater unit or units within the facility 1000with regard to preheater unit 102, temperature booster section 103, andheat recovery unit 104. The following citations are used for themembers: 100, 100A, 100B—Rotary heater unit(s) (rotary apparatus(es));101—Heat-consuming unit/process; 102—Preheater unit; 103—Additionalheating apparatus (booster heater).

FIG. 2A schematically illustrates a basic implementation for the rotaryapparatus 100 configured to input heat into a stream of fluidic medium(feed stream 1) directed therethrough. Heated stream exiting theapparatus 100 is designated with reference number 2, respectively. Inbasic implementation, the rotor system of the rotary apparatus 100 isaerodynamically configured so that a volume of fluid is heated to apredetermined temperature while propagating along the flow path formedin the casing of the apparatus 100, between inlet and exit (so called“one-pass” implementation). The apparatus 100 enables temperature rise(delta T, ΔT) within a range of about 10° C. to about 120° C., in someconfigurations—up to about 500° C., in one stage.

Hence, in case of a multistage implementation, the fluid can be heatedto 1000° C. in “one-pass” implementation (taken 100° C. temperature riseper stage in a 10-stage apparatus). Since residence time the fluidicmedium spends to pass through the apparatus stage is in scale offractions of seconds, such as about 0.01-1.0 milliseconds, fast andefficient heating can be achieved already in the basic configuration.Temperature rise can be optimized as required.

FIG. 2B illustrates a basic concept involving so-called booster heating.Booster heating is an optional method to heat a fluidic medium, such asa process gas, for example, beyond capability of a standalone heaterapparatus 100.

Temperature boost may be viewed as thermal, chemical or both. In a firstconfiguration (a) also referred to as a “thermal boost”, an additionalrotary heater apparatus (designated as 100B on FIGS. 2B, 2C and 2D) isarranged downstream of a “primary” rotary heater apparatus (designatedas 100A on FIGS. 2B, 2C and 2D). Apparatuses 100A, 100B are generallyrecognized, within the present disclosure, as rotary heater units 100.Generation of the heated fluidic medium is can thus be achieved byprovision of at least two sequentially connected rotary apparatuses100A, 100B, wherein the stream of fluidic medium (rf. feed stream 1) isheated to a predetermined temperature in at least a first rotaryapparatus (100A) in a sequence, referred to hereby as a primary heater,and wherein said stream of fluidic medium (rf. stream 2) is furtherheated in at least a second rotary apparatus (100B) in the sequence byinputting an additional amount of thermal energy into the stream offluidic medium “preheated” in the first rotary apparatus 100A andpropagating through the second rotary apparatus 100B (rf. stream 3). Theapparatus 100B is therefore referred to as a booster heater. Theapparatuses 100A, 100B may be identical and vary in terms of size orinternal design. A sequence of two or more booster apparatuses such as100B can be arranged after a primary heater 100A. Booster apparatusescan be arranged in parallel or in series, or in any combination thatallows for optimization of rotating speed and aerodynamics thereof.

In a second, additional or alternative, configuration (further referredto as “chemical boost”), the additional heating apparatus designated as103 (FIGS. 1, 2B) is adapted to receive, into the stream of fluidicmedium propagating therethrough, reactive components 5, such as forexample combustible fuel, to provide heat by exothermic reactions priorto directing said stream of fluidic medium to the heat-consuming process101 of high-temperature material manufacturing.

In this configuration, temperature boosting can be achieved by virtue ofintroducing (e.g. by injecting) a reactive chemical or chemicals 5 intoto the stream of fluidic medium directed through the additional heaterunit/heating apparatus 103. It is noted that stream 5 of FIG. 2Bcorresponds to stream 8 shown on FIG. 1 .

The reactive chemical-based booster heater unit 103 may be located afterthe thermal booster heater unit 100, 100B (FIG. 2B) or directly afterthe primary heater 100, 100A (FIG. 1 ). The reactive chemical (reactant)5 may include combustion gases, such as hydrogen gas, hydrocarbons,ammonia, oxygen, air, other gas and/or any other appropriate reactivecompound, optionally a catalyst. In the unit 103, by virtue ofexothermic reactions, the fluidic stream can be heated to a level, whichis typically not possible to achieve by a single rotary apparatus notinvolving chemical-mediated heating (rf. stream 4). For example, a fuelgas, such as hydrogen, can be introduced into an oxygen-containingprocess gas, such as air. At elevated temperatures, hydrogen and oxygenenter an exothermic reaction to produce water molecules (hydrogencombustion).

Fuel gas can be injected into the booster heater unit 103 throughburners along with air (or enriched oxygen) to rise the temperature ofgases. If heated gas contains flammable gases and it is possible toconsume these gases for heating only air/or oxygen can be added. Processgases can contain H₂, NH₃, CO, fuel gases (methane, propane, etc.) whichmay be burned to generate heat. Other reactive gases can be injected togenerate heat if feasible.

The additional heater 103 adapted for chemical boost may be configuredas a piece of pipe or as a chamber where exothermic reactions takeplace, and/or it can comprise as at least one rotary apparatus 100arranged to receive reactive compounds to accommodate exothermicreactions to produce additional heat energy. The booster section 103 canthus comprise at least one rotary apparatus 100. Optionally, thereactive chemicals can be injected directly to the heat consumingprocess 101 (not shown). Additionally or alternatively, the reactivechemical mediated boost can be implemented in a single apparatus 100,103, modified accordingly.

In an arrangement involving booster heating, the temperature of thestream of fluidic medium preheated to a predetermined temperature in afirst rotary apparatus (100A) can be further raised to a maximum limitin subsequent heater units (100B, 103). By way of example, thetemperature of the stream of fluidic medium preheated to about 1700° C.in a primary heater (100A) can be further raised in subsequent heaterunits (100B, 103) up to 2500° C. and beyond.

Mentioned concepts can be used separately or in combination, so that thereactive chemical 5 can be introduced into any one of the apparatuses100 connected in parallel or in series (in sequence). Provision of thebooster heater(s) is optional.

In additional or alternative configurations, preheating and additionalheating can be implemented in the same apparatus 100 (not shown). Thiscan be achieved in multistage configurations, comprising a number ofrotor units (e.g. 1-5 rows of rotor blades sequentially arrangedon/along the rotor shaft) alternating with common diffuser area(s)(vaneless or vaned).

Additionally or alternatively, booster heating can be used for examplein an event, when the temperature of the fluid once heated in the rotaryapparatus(es) 100, needs to be raised again after it has transferred itsheat to the heat-consuming process 101 (not shown).

Upon connecting the at least two rotary apparatuses, such as 100A, 100B,and optionally 103 (in an event 103 is implemented as a rotary apparatus100) in parallel or in series, a rotary apparatus assembly can beestablished (see for example FIGS. 2B-2D). Connection between the rotaryapparatuses 100 implemented as “primary” heater(s) 100A or “booster”heater(s) 100B, 103 can be mechanical and/or functional. Functional (interms of achievable heat input, for example) connection can beestablished upon association between at least two individual, physicallyintegrated- or non-integrated individual apparatus units. In a lattercase, association between the at least two rotary apparatuses can beestablished via a number of auxiliary installations (not shown). In someconfigurations, the assembly comprises the at least two apparatusesconnected such, as to mirror each other, whereby said at least twoapparatuses are at least functionally connected via their central(rotor) shafts. Such mirrored configuration can be further defined ashaving the at least two rotary apparatuses 100 mechanically connected inseries (in a sequence), whereas functional connection can be viewed asconnection in parallel (in arrays). In some instances, the aforesaid“mirrored” arrangement can be further modified to comprise at least twoinlets and a common exhaust (discharge) module placed essentially in thecenter of the arrangement.

Rotary apparatuses (100A, 100B, 103, rf. FIG. 2B) can be assembled onthe same (rotor) shaft. Each rotary apparatus can be optionally providedwith a separate drive (a motor) which allows independent optimization ofthe apparatuses. When two or more separate rotary apparatuses are used,construction costs (materials etc.) can be optimized in view ofoperation temperature and pressure.

Additionally or alternatively, at least one rotary apparatus within theassembly can be designed to increase pressure of the fluidic stream.Hence, the at least one rotary apparatus in the assembly can be assignedwith a combined heater and blower functionality. The apparatus 100adapted to act as blower provides necessary pressure increase for thefluid to circulate in the furnace 101. The apparatus 100 may thusreplace a separate air blower/system fan, otherwise necessary inconventional fuel-fired furnaces.

Additionally or alternatively, a stream containing reactive or inertgases (such as stream 8 of FIG. 1 ) can be fed to the rotary apparatus100 (not shown) or to any equipment downstream of said apparatus (e.g.into the heat-consuming process section 101). Thus, the reactive gases(such as stream 8 of FIG. 1 ) may be injected directly to theheat-consuming process unit 101, if the latter is configured to receivesuch chemicals. In manufacture of high-temperature materials, acombustible fuel (8) may be injected directly to the process unit 101,such as a furnace, to generate heat and/or to take part in thereactions.

FIG. 2C illustrates the use of the rotary heater apparatuses 100A,optionally 100B with indirect process heating. The rotary apparatus 100(100A, 100B) can be used for indirect heating of fluids in theheat-consuming unit 101, wherein heat is transferred between twonon-mixing fluids as in heat exchanger-type configurations. Hence,fluids, such as gases or liquids, can be evaporated (vaporized) orsuperheated in a feasible heat exchanger arrangement 101 against fluidheated in the rotary apparatus 100. The heat-consuming unit 101configured to accommodate a heat-consuming process can be representedwith any (existing) fired heater, reactor or furnace, or anyconventional heat exchanger device. Type of said “heat exchanger”configuration (101) can be selected as needed for optimal heat transfer.Heating gas (see streams 1-3) can be selected to be most suitable forheating and safety (for example: steam, N₂, air). Gas heated in therotary apparatus 100A, 100B can be close to atmospheric pressure orpressure can be raised to improve heat transfer. Heat transfer medium 3heated in the apparatus 100 (rf. stream 3 exiting 100B) is directed tothe heat-consuming process 101, where heat is transferred from stream 3to a “cold” process stream 6 to produce a “hot” process stream 7. Stream4 designates the heat transfer medium outflow, respectively.

Process streams 6 and 7 of FIG. 2C thus correspond to streams 9 and 10of FIG. 1 , respectively (indirect heating configuration); while heattransfer medium streams 3 and 4 of FIG. 2C correspond to streams 3(optionally 4) and 5, respectively (indirect heating configuration).

FIG. 2D illustrates the rotary heater apparatus 100A with a preheater102 and with a recycle process fluid (stream 4) recycled from the heatconsuming process (not shown). Preheater can be electric, fired,combustion engine, gas turbine, etc. or it can be a heat exchanger forrecovering excess heat from any high temperature flow in the process.Provision of the preheater 102 is optional. The concept can furtherinclude an optional booster heater 100B downstream of the apparatus100A. Thermal or chemical booster heating may be utilized. Stream 1′designates a (feed) fluid sent to the preheater 102. Said fluid isfurther propagated through the rotary apparatuses 100A, 100B, where thefeed is heated and sent to the heat-consuming process at stream 3.

Any one of the rotary apparatuses 100A, 100B can be equipped with afluid recycle arrangement (see stream 4, FIG. 2D). Any combination ofthe rotary apparatuses the fluid recycle arrangement can be conceived.Recycling is made possible through recirculation of the streams offluidic medium by the at least one rotary apparatus.

In some configurations, the rotary apparatus 100 can utilize flue gaseswith low oxygen content exhausted from a conventional fired heater. Insuch an event, hot flue gases exhausted from the fired heater are mixedwith recycle gases (stream 4, FIG. 2D) to be used for heating in therotary heater 100, 100A. Oxygen content in the flue gases used indescribed case is preferably below a flammability limit to provide safeheating.

It is clear to a person skilled in the art that with the advancement oftechnology the basic ideas of the present invention may be implementedand combined in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are thusnot limited to the examples described herein above, instead they maygenerally vary within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method for high-temperature material production, the methodcomprising generation of a heated fluidic medium by at least one rotaryapparatus integrated into a high-temperature material productionfacility, the at least one rotary apparatus comprising: a casing with atleast one inlet and at least one exit, a rotor comprising at least onerow of rotor blades arranged over a circumference of a rotor hub mountedonto a rotor shaft, and a plurality of stationary vanes arranged into anassembly at least upstream of the at least one row of rotor blades,wherein an amount of thermal energy is imparted to a stream of fluidicmedium directed along a flow path formed inside the casing between theinlet and the exit by virtue of a series of energy transformationsoccurring when said stream of fluidic medium passes through thestationary vanes and the at least one row of rotor blades, respectively,whereby a stream of heated fluidic medium is generated, the methodfurther comprising: conducting an amount of input energy into the atleast one rotary apparatus integrated into the high-temperature materialproduction facility, the input energy comprising electrical energy,supplying the stream of heated fluidic medium generated by the at leastone rotary apparatus into the high-temperature material productionfacility, and operating said at least one rotary apparatus and saidhigh-temperature material production facility to carry outhigh-temperature material production at temperatures essentially equalto or exceeding about 500 degrees Celsius (° C.).
 2. The method of claim1, wherein, in the high-temperature material production facility, the atleast one rotary apparatus is connected to at least one heat-consumingunit configured to carry out a process or processes related tohigh-temperature material production at temperatures essentially equalto or exceeding about 500 degrees Celsius (° C.).
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the high-temperature material is glass, and wherein theheat-consuming unit to which the at least one rotary apparatus isconnected is at least one furnace configured to heat sand, limestone,soda ash, and recycled glass to produce glass in the high-temperaturematerial production facility configured as a glass production facility.4. The method of claim 2, wherein the high-temperature material is glasswool, and wherein the heat-consuming unit to which the at least onerotary apparatus is connected is at least one furnace configured to meltglass to produce molten glass and/or to cure glass fibers to produceglass wool in the high-temperature material production facilityconfigured as a glass wool production facility.
 5. The method of claim2, wherein the high-temperature material is carbon fibers, and whereinthe heat-consuming unit to which the at least one rotary apparatus isconnected is at least one furnace configured to carbonizepolyacrylonitrile fibers to form carbon fibers in the high-temperaturematerial production facility configured as a carbon fiber productionfacility.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the high-temperaturematerial is carbon nanotubes, and wherein the heat-consuming unit towhich the at least one rotary apparatus is connected is at least onefurnace configured to effect disproportionation of high-pressure carbonmonoxide to form carbon nanotubes in the high-temperature materialproduction facility configured as a carbon nanotube production facility.7. The method of claim 2, wherein the high-temperature material isbricks, and wherein the heat-consuming unit to which the at least onerotary apparatus is connected is at least one kiln configured to burnbricks in the high-temperature material production facility configuredas a brick production facility.
 8. The method of claim 2, wherein thehigh-temperature material is a clay-based material, and wherein theheat-consuming unit to which the at least one rotary apparatus isconnected is at least one kiln configured to thermally process saidclay-based material in the high-temperature material production facilityconfigured as a facility for manufacturing of clay-based products. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the high-temperature clay-based materialis ceramic or porcelain, and wherein the high-temperature materialproduction facility is configured as a ceramic production facilityand/or as a porcelain production facility.
 10. The method of claim 1,comprising generation of the fluidic medium heated to the temperatureessentially equal to or exceeding about 500 degrees Celsius (° C.),preferably, to the temperature essentially equal to or exceeding about1200° C., still preferably, to the temperature essentially equal to orexceeding about 1700° C.
 11. The method of claim 1, comprising adjustingvelocity and/or pressure of the stream of fluidic medium propagatingthrough the rotary apparatus, to produce conditions, at which the streamof the heated fluidic medium is generated.
 12. The method of claim 1, inwhich the heated fluidic medium is generated by at least one rotaryapparatus comprising two or more rows of rotor blades sequentiallyarranged along the rotor shaft.
 13. The method of claim 1, in which theheated fluidic medium is generated by at least one rotary apparatusfurther comprising a diffuser area arranged downstream of the at leastone row of rotor blades, the method comprises operating the at least onerotary apparatus integrated into the high-temperature materialproduction facility such, that an amount of thermal energy is impartedto a stream of fluidic medium directed along a flow path formed insidethe casing between the inlet and the exit by virtue of a series ofenergy transformations occurring when said stream of fluidic mediumsuccessively passes through the stationary vanes, the rotor blades andthe diffuser area, respectively, whereby a stream of heated fluidicmedium is generated.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein, in said rotaryapparatus, the diffuser area is configured with or without stationarydiffuser vanes.
 15. The method of claim 1, in which the amount ofthermal energy added to the stream of fluidic medium propagating throughthe rotary apparatus is controlled by adjusting the amount of inputenergy conducted into the at least one rotary apparatus integrated intothe high-temperature material production facility.
 16. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising arranging an additional heating apparatusdownstream of the at least one rotary apparatus and introducing areactive compound or a mixture of reactive compounds to the stream offluidic medium propagating through said additional heating apparatus,whereupon the amount of thermal energy is added to said stream offluidic medium through exothermic reaction(s).
 17. The method of claim16, wherein the reactive compound or a mixture of reactive compounds isintroduced to the stream of fluidic medium preheated to a predeterminedtemperature.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the reactive compoundor a mixture of reactive compounds is introduced to the stream offluidic medium preheated to a temperature essentially equal to orexceeding about 1700° C.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein preheatingof the stream of fluidic medium to the predetermined temperature isimplemented in the rotary apparatus.
 20. The method of claim 1,comprising generation of the heated fluidic medium by at least tworotary apparatuses integrated into the high-temperature materialproduction facility, wherein the at least two rotary apparatuses areconnected in parallel or in series.
 21. The method of claim 20,comprising generation of the heated fluidic medium by at least twosequentially connected rotary apparatuses, wherein the stream of fluidicmedium is preheated to a predetermined temperature in at least a firstrotary apparatus in a sequence, and wherein said stream of fluidicmedium is further heated in at least a second rotary apparatus in thesequence by inputting an additional amount of thermal energy into thestream of preheated fluidic medium propagating through said secondrotary apparatus.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein, in at least thefirst rotary apparatus in the sequence, the stream of fluidic medium ispreheated to a temperature essentially equal to or exceeding about 1700°C.
 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the additional amount of thermalenergy is added to the stream of fluidic medium propagating through saidat least second rotary apparatus in the sequence by virtue ofintroducing the reactive compound or a mixture of compounds into saidstream.
 24. The method of claim 1, comprising introducing the reactivecompound or a mixture of compounds into a process or processes relatedto the production of high-temperature materials implemented in thefurnace or kiln.
 25. The method of claim 1, in which the heated fluidicmedium generated by the at least one rotary apparatus is selected fromthe group consisting of a feed gas, a recycle gas, a make-up gas, and aprocess fluid.
 26. The method of claim 1, wherein the fluidic mediumthat enters the rotary apparatus is an essentially gaseous medium. 27.The method of claim 1, comprising generation of the heated fluidicmedium in the rotary apparatus.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein theheated fluidic medium generated in the rotary apparatus comprises anyone of: air, steam (H₂O), nitrogen (N₂), hydrogen (H₂), carbon dioxide(CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH₄), or any combination thereof.29. The method of claim 27, wherein the heated fluidic medium generatedin the rotary apparatus is a recycle gas recycled from off-gasesgenerated during production of high-temperature materials.
 30. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising generation of a heated fluidicmedium, such as gas, vapor, liquid, and mixtures thereof, and/or heatedsolid materials outside the rotary apparatus through a process of heattransfer between the heated fluidic medium generated in the rotaryapparatus and any one of the above-mentioned substances bypassing therotary apparatus.
 31. The method of claim 1, further comprisingincreasing pressure in the stream of fluidic medium propagating throughthe rotary apparatus.
 32. The method of claim 1, in which the amount ofelectrical energy conducted as the input energy into the at least onerotary apparatus integrated in the high-temperature material productionfacility is within a range of about 5 percent to 100 percent.
 33. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the amount of electrical energy conducted asthe input energy into the at least one rotary apparatus integrated inthe high-temperature material production facility is obtainable from asource of renewable energy or a combination of different sources ofenergy, optionally, renewable energy.
 34. The method of claim 1, whereinthe at least one rotary apparatus is utilized to balance variations,such as oversupply and shortage, in the amount of electrical energy,optionally renewable electrical energy, by virtue of being integrated,into the high-temperature material production facility, together with anat least one non-electrical energy operable heater device.
 35. Themethod of claim 1, wherein energy efficiency of the high-temperaturematerial production facility is improved and/or wherein greenhouse gasand particle emissions in the high-temperature material productionfacility are reduced.
 36. A high-temperature material productionfacility comprising at least one rotary apparatus configured to generatea heated fluidic medium and at least one heat-consuming unit configuredto carry out a process of processes related to production ofhigh-temperature materials, the at least one rotary apparatuscomprising: a casing with at least one inlet and at least one exit, arotor comprising at least one row of rotor blades arranged over acircumference of a rotor hub mounted onto a rotor shaft, and a pluralityof stationary vanes arranged into an assembly at least upstream of theat least one row of rotor blades, wherein the at least one rotaryapparatus is configured to operate such that an amount of thermal energyis imparted to a stream of fluidic medium directed along a flow pathformed inside the casing between the inlet and the exit by virtue of aseries of energy transformations occurring when said stream of fluidicmedium passes through the stationary vanes and the at least one row ofrotor blades, respectively, whereby a stream of heated fluidic medium isgenerated, and wherein said at least one rotary apparatus is configuredto receive an amount of input energy, the input energy comprisingelectrical energy, and to generate a heated fluidic medium for inputtingthermal energy into at least one heat-consuming unit configured to carryout a process or processes related to production of high-temperaturematerials at temperatures essentially equal to or exceeding about 500degrees Celsius (° C.).
 37. The high-temperature material productionfacility of claim 36, wherein the at least one heat-consuming unit is afurnace or kiln.
 38. The high-temperature material production facilityof claim 36, configured as a glass production facility, wherein the atleast one heat-consuming unit is a furnace or kiln configured to heatsand, limestone, soda ash, and recycled glass to produce glass in saidglass production facility.
 39. The high-temperature material productionfacility of claim 36, configured as a glass wool production facility,wherein the at least one heat-consuming unit is a furnace or kilnconfigured to melt glass to produce molten glass, and/or to cure glassfibers in said glass wool production facility.
 40. The high-temperaturematerial production facility of claim 36, configured as a carbon fiberproduction facility, wherein the at least one heat-consuming unit is afurnace or kiln configured to carbonize polyacrylonitrile fibers to formcarbon fibers in said carbon fiber production facility.
 41. Thehigh-temperature material production facility of claim 36, configured asa carbon nanotubes production facility, wherein the at least oneheat-consuming unit is a furnace or kiln configured to effectdisproportionation of high-pressure carbon monoxide to form carbonnanotubes in said carbon nanotubes production facility.
 42. Thehigh-temperature material production facility of claim 36, configured asa brick production facility, wherein the at least one heat-consumingunit is a furnace or kiln configured to burn bricks in said brickproduction facility.
 43. The high-temperature material productionfacility of claim 36, configured as a facility for manufacturing ofclay-based products, wherein the at least one heat-consuming unit is afurnace or kiln configured to thermally process clay-based material insaid facility for manufacturing of clay-based products.
 44. Thehigh-temperature material production facility of claim 43, configured asa ceramic production facility and/or as a porcelain production facility,wherein the at least one heat-consuming unit is a furnace or kiln isconfigured to thermally process ceramic or porcelain in said ceramicand/or porcelain production facility.
 45. The high-temperature materialproduction facility of claim 36, in which the at least one rotaryapparatus is further connected to a heat-consuming unit configured asany one of: an oven, a reactor, a heater, a burner, a dryer, a boiler, aconveyor device, or a combination thereof.
 46. The high-temperaturematerial production facility of claim 36, wherein the at least onerotary apparatus comprises two or more rows of rotor blades sequentiallyarranged along the rotor shaft.
 47. The high-temperature materialproduction facility of claim 36, wherein the at least one rotaryapparatus further comprises a diffuser area arranged downstream of theat least one row of rotor blades.
 48. The high-temperature materialproduction facility of claim 47, wherein the rotary apparatus comprisesthe diffuser area configured with or without stationary diffuser vanes.49. The high-temperature material production facility of claim 36,wherein the at least one rotary apparatus is further configured toincrease pressure in the fluidic stream propagating therethrough. 50.The high-temperature material production facility of claim 36, whereinat least two rotary apparatuses are arranged into an assembly andconnected in parallel or in series.
 51. A high-temperature materialproduction facility configured to implement a process or processesrelated to high-temperature material production through a method asdefined in claim
 1. 52. A method for inputting thermal energy into aprocess or processes related to producing high-temperature materials ina high-temperature material production facility, the method comprisesgeneration of a heated fluidic medium by at least one rotary apparatusintegrated into the high-temperature material production facility, theat least one rotary apparatus comprising: a casing with at least oneinlet and at least one exit, a rotor comprising at least one row ofrotor blades arranged over a circumference of a rotor hub mounted onto arotor shaft, and a plurality of stationary vanes arranged into anassembly at least upstream of the at least one row of rotor blades, themethod further comprises: integrating the at least one rotary apparatusinto the high-temperature material production facility configured tocarry out process or processes related to production of high-temperaturematerials at temperatures essentially equal to or exceeding about 500degrees Celsius (° C.), conducting an amount of input energy into the atleast one rotary apparatus integrated into the high-temperature materialproduction facility, the input energy comprising electrical energy, andoperating the at least one rotary apparatus integrated into thehigh-temperature material production facility such, that an amount ofthermal energy is imparted to a stream of fluidic medium directed alonga flow path formed inside the casing between the inlet and the exit byvirtue of a series of energy transformations occurring when said streamof fluidic medium passes through the stationary vanes and the at leastone row of rotor blades, respectively, whereby a stream of heatedfluidic medium is generated.
 53. The method of claim 52, wherein theprocess related to producing high-temperature materials in thehigh-temperature material production facility is any one of: (i)production of glass, (ii) production of glass wool, (iii) production ofcarbon fiber and carbon nanotubes, (iv) production of brick and/or tile,(v) production of clay-based material, such as ceramic and/or porcelain,or (vi) any combination thereof.